FBI: Number of violent crimes reported in Texas border towns

Keep scrolling to see how many violent crimes were reported in Texas border towns in 2016, according to the FBI.

Keep scrolling to see how many violent crimes were reported in Texas border towns in 2016, according to the FBI.

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Keep scrolling to see how many violent crimes were reported in Texas border towns in 2016, according to the FBI.

Keep scrolling to see how many violent crimes were reported in Texas border towns in 2016, according to the FBI.

Photo: Courtesy

FBI: Number of violent crimes reported in Texas border towns

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El Paso had the most violent crimes reported than any other border city in Texas, followed by Laredo, according to data reported to the FBI.

Violent crime in Texas cities is compiled annually through the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. In the 2016 report, the most recent, Laredo totaled 940 violent crimes with a population of 259,325. That translates to a violent crime rate of 362 per 100,000 people. With 2,682 violent crimes, El Paso had a crime rate of 390 per 100,000 people.

The average violent crime rate in Texas cities in 2016 was 434 per 100,000 people.

Houston had the highest number of violent crimes out of all Texas cities with 23,960 cases and a population of over 2.3 million.

Although Laredo came in with the second most violent crimes reported in border cities, crime in Laredo has dropped significantly over the past nine years. Homicide cases dropped 36 percent from 2009 to 2017, while robbery declined 47 percent and aggravated assault dropped 30 percent, according to the Laredo Police Department's 2017 Annual Report.

As most violent crime rates have dropped by double digits, sexual offense cases have increased by 48 percent during this nine-year span.

Investigator Joe Baeza, LPD spokesman, told LMTonline.com that there has been more emphasis over the years on educating victims to report sexual crimes. Though the number has increased, Baeza said that it could mean more victims are coming forward than in the past.

Scroll through the gallery above to see how many violent crimes were reported for Texas border cities in 2016.

JeriLynn Thorpe is a digital reporter for the Laredo Morning Times. Read more of her stories on LMTonline.com | jerilynn.thorpe@lmtonline.com